Delivery receptacles are known in the art. Residential and business Postal Service mailboxes are one example in these regards. In some cases the mailbox is an unsecured container into which a letter carrier places delivered mail. In other cases a keyed lock secures the container, with both the letter carrier and the recipient having a corresponding key. Legal restrictions typically prohibit non-Postal Service delivery services from using mailboxes when making their deliveries. In any event, unsecured containers may be inappropriate for many delivery purposes.
Furthermore, even secured containers can be inappropriate for some delivery purposes. For example, the delivery of some packages may be conditioned upon one or more recipient-specific requirements. As one simple example, some pharmaceuticals may only be appropriately delivered to a particular individual and/or their authorized caretaker. While other delivery receptacles have been proposed from time to time to provide a viable option for non-Postal Service delivery services, developments to date have been at least partially inadequate in terms of meeting such needs.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present teachings. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present teachings. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.